Turn It Up Tuesday #115

Happy first day of December! So much to do, places to be and at the top of the priorities--spending time with family. We have a special day coming up later this week, my newest grandchild will turn 2! What a fun little one she is and it will be a good day for our family. All the grandchildren will be here for it--next year we will have one more as daughter ("chick") Staci and her husband Jon will have their first next spring--grandbaby #6!

Without further ado, here is our (and your) party!

Welcome to the 115th week of Turn It Up Tuesday! We thank you for joining us last week for our Thanksgiving edition, and every week, as we have some fun linking up and getting to know each other! We had quite an amazing week last week, and it's because of all of you! We are so happy to have you all join us for another amazing week!

Turn It Up Tuesdays is all about being happy, excited, energetic...and having fun! Link up all of your favorite posts (old or new) and meet some awesome bloggers in return! Link up your funny stories, DIY posts, recipes, mommy moments -- anything at all. We want to laugh, be entertained, be inspired, and have a good time! Thanks so much to everyone that joins us each week and makes this link party the best that it could be!

SPONSOR OF THE MONTH

Our sponsor for November is Two Chicks and a Mom.

Two Chicks and a Mom is a fun blog by a mom and her two "chicks"-- a newlywed college student and a high school student. Crafts, travel, recipes, and family life are what she write about--with a dash of humor, too. Be sure to check out her fun blog all month!

Are you looking to get your blog or website in front of numerous people per week? Do you enjoy Turn It Up Tuesdays? Interested in having your blog or website featured for an entire month? Then, sponsor Turn It Up Tuesday for a month by clicking here!

Welcome the lovely ladies of Turn It Up Tuesday!

(from the top - left to right)

Natasha from Epic Mommy Adventures | Stacey from This Momma's Ramblings | Cathy from A Peek Into My Paradise | April from April Noelle | Tina from The Happy Creations | Tiffany from MrsTeeLoveLifeLaughter | Cindy from Mom Maven | Melissa from The Coupon Chronicles | Kelly from Making-More | Silvie from My Silly Little Gang | Mari from Living in Mommywood | Tenns from Bliss & Faith | Kimberly from Being a Wordsmith | Nancy from Afro-Chic Mompreneur | Kimberly from Keystrokes by Kimberly | Kelly from Mum-bo-Jumbo | Elaine from Ramblings of a Bad Domestic Goddess | Ginger from Does Your Sister Have Normal Hair | Free from Couponin Diva | Kori from Just Another Mom | Bev from Eclectic Red Barn | Dawn from Pretty Shabby UK | Anuja from All I Do

And welcome our awesome guest hosts for November!

(from the top - left to right)

Donna from Two Chicks and a Mom | Angie from God's Growing Garden | Lyn from Mid Michigan Mom | Glenda from Mommies Point of View | Jenessa from Mothering {In Real Life} | Maria from Pastels & Macarons | Hilary from Raising Fairies and Knights

(not pictured)

Ritu from Rocket Looks

Interested in being a guest host for the month or becoming a permanent co-host?

Complete the form here! Monthly guest hosts will be chosen on a first come first-serve basis.

Here are the Featured posts from last week!

Elaine chose Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza from I Say Nomato. "Since I am still in a turkey coma this sound so good.”

Elaine chose Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge from Sweet C's Designs. " 5 words Chocolate chip cookie dough fudge. What’s not to love?”

Lyn chose Apple Caramel Cheesecake Recipe - Mason Jar Desserts from All She Cooks. "Apple + Caramel + Cheesecake =I can't resist!"

Mari also chose this post. "I love Jessica's combo!!! I want to try that for Christmas."

Angie chose Rustic Wood Candle Holders from Marty's Musings. "I love anything rustic & in my opinion these would be perfect as a center piece at any Christmas gathering!"

Angie chose Sugared Cranberries from Morsels of Life. "I have heard about this but have never tried them before - I plan on making them soon! Delicious & festive looking!"

Mari chose Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe for Christmas from Marty's Musings. "This looks so moist and yummy I love cinnamon rolls!"

Hilary chose Cinnamon Star Ornaments from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs. "I love the simplicity of this ornament. Great to provide a nice cinnamon smell on your tree, and a fun way to incorporate a pentacle on your Yule tree!"

Stacey also chose this post. "These are great! What a wonderful smell they would leave off, too. Thank you so much for sharing!"

Hilary chose My Christmas Five Senses Book: Free Printable from Life Over C's. "This is such a cute fun craft to make for baby. Every Yule my family exchanges home-made gifts and this would be perfect to make for my son."

Dawn chose Caramel-Chocolate Chip Cookies: A delicious treat for the holidays! from Reviews, Chews, and How-Tos. "Wow, awesome recipe. I would love to make these cookies and give them away as presents, although i think i would problem eat them all before giving them. Thanks for sharing!"

Dawn chose Peppermint Sugar Scrub Hand Wash Recipe from H20 Bungalow. "I love home made scrubs and creams, and there is nothing more refreshing than a peppermint scrub. Thanks for sharing!"

Maria chose Christmas Crafting Cocoa Party from Lemon Thistle. "I LOVE this beautiful Christmas Party! What a fabulous idea for a Christmas party AND I love that Colleen has included a free party plaining printable and give lots of handy tips to planning a stress free party. Thank you so much for sharing this!"

Maria chose Winter Wonderland Vignette from AttaGirlSays. "I'm so in the Christmas spirit so anything and everything Christmas is it for me but this gorgeous vignette tops it for me. How STUNNING! I love the colours and the beautiful details! Thank you for sharing such gorgeousness with us. I feel so inspired."

Bev chose Eggnog Bundt Cake with Eggnog Sugar Glaze from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs. "Love the idea of making an eggnog cake. So great to serve for the holidays."

Bev chose 24 Gift Wrapping Ideas from C.R.A.F.T. "This is a great idea for wrapping paper to do with the kids. Cheap and adorable. They can customize each package."

Stacey chose 35+ holiday cookie swap recipe ideas from Dreaming of Leaving. "Baking cookies at Christmas time is one of my favorite things, Maybe I will be able to add a few of these to the treats menu, this year. Thanks for sharing!"

Natasha chose 10 Easy Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Their Veggies from Fun Money Mom. "With a picky preschooler in my household who refuses to eat any veggies, this is a great list that I will refer to when needed! Thanks for sharing!"

Natasha chose Life Anchored 2015 Holiday Gift Guide for Toddlers from Life Anchored. "Thanks for this great share! These gifts ar right on target with what I would give to my child when he was that age." The post with the most views is 3 Shortcuts for Writing Your Blog Post in Less Time from Giftie Etcetera.

Stop by and show some love to our featured bloggers this week! I'm sure they'd all appreciate it!

If you were featured above, feel free to share the badge below with pride on your blog or website!

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And the Best of the Best goes to...

Eggnog Bundt Cake with Eggnog Sugar Glaze from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

Cinnamon Star Ornaments from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

Show some love to our Best of the Best blogger this week!!!!

Best of the Best Bloggers - make sure to showcase the button below on your blog!

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So now that you've seen all that we have to offer in this week's Turn It Up Tuesday,

let's get started!

- Show some love to your hosts and co-hosts simply by following them on social media and leaving a comment so they can follow you back. - Link up as many posts as you'd like! The more, the merrier! - Check out some of the other posts and make some new friends! - Grab the button below and showcase on your sidebar! Invite your fellow bloggers to join the fun!

 

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Link up your posts, make some friends, and earn the chance to be featured or become the Best of the Best on Turn It Up Tuesday! We will feature the favorite posts each week! **Disclaimer: Adding your link to this link party gives permission to Epic Mommy Adventures, along with co-hosts, guest hosts, and participants of Turn It Up Tuesday, to share your posts and pictures via social media and as features, roundups, etc. with an explicit link back to the original source.**

An InLinkz Link-up

Interested in reading all of our favorite posts on Turn It Up Tuesdays - past or present? Or do want to know if your post was featured before we go live next week? Follow Natasha Peter's board Featured on Turn It Up Tuesdays! on Pinterest. Natasha Peter Blogger & Editor Epic Mommy Adventures Email: 1epicmommy@gmail.com Website: http://epicmommyadventures.com Recent Post on Epic Mommy Adventures: Throwback Thursday Tell-All Linky Party #31

Two Uses Tuesday #57

Welcome to this week's Two Uses Tuesday!  Here it is December 1st already and we have some fun favorites to share from last week's party.  Check out the links and share yours with us! 

Tip of the Week:

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for ways to improve my blog.  First, so I feel good about how it looks.  Second, and more importantly, for you the readers!  You're the ones who really matter!

With that said, how easily can you read this?  How's the font type?  The font size?  Color?

I'm hoping you said:  simple and readable, large and dark enough.  Now go check out your site.  Keeping your fonts easy to read will keep your readers happy and coming back for more!

Most Clicked

Brenda creates some homemade memories with her tartlet tin ornaments

Sarah's Favorite

Struggling on how to wrap that gift? Tasha shows us how to make a gift bag. Problem solved.

Stella's Favorite

Louise teaches us how to not only make adorable crocheted stars but how to turn them into a sweet garland!

Pili's Favorite

Angela takes a cheap bookcase into a beautiful piece of furniture.

Donna's Favorite

Tara takes an ordinary household item and makes it into a decoration that is anything but ordinary!

And Last, But Certainly Not Least...

Last To The Party

Donna from Adventures in Junking blends an old horn and some hydrangea's into a holiday decoration her family is sure to treasure for years.

                           twochicksandamom's own pick

Rebecca from strength and sunshine has an all-inclusive list of
                                         Baking Essentials

Congrats to this week's featured bloggers!

Thank you for inspiring us to create!  Don't forget to brag about it =)  Grab a button, tweet it to the world and watch for it on the Two Uses Tuesday FEATURES! board on Pinterest. Follow Sarah Jaskowski @ Sarah Celebrates's board Two Uses Tuesday FEATURES! on Pinterest.

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LINK UP RULES & GUIDELINES

1. BE CREATIVE & LINK UP - Share up to three (3) up-cycling, re-purposing, DIYs, recipes and craft projects.  Original work and posts you haven't submitted previously please.
2. COMMENT & CONNECT - Visit two (2) links for every post you submit and show a little love.
3. FOLLOW & SHARE - Follow your hosts on at least one social media platform and share the party! Don't forget to use our party hashtag, #2usestuesday

**Note on Last To Link Feature - Blogger can only hold this spot every other week.  If the same blogger links last two weeks in a row, the 2nd to last blogger will get the feature for the week.  We want everyone to have a chance to shine =)

Remember, share & pin the Two Uses Tuesday Features from the bloggers original content.  Thank you.

Google+  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  | Instagram  |  Facebook

Google+  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  | Facebook 

 Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  Instagram  |  Facebook

Google  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  Instagram  |  Facebook

After you link up, grab the party button for your blog's party page, linked posts or sidebar.

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An InLinkz Link-up

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Disclosures: By submitting a link to the Two Uses Tuesday Link Up you are giving the party hosts permission to feature your link/post on our blogs, across social media and future round up posts. This includes images from the linked post as well as linking to your social media accounts.  Two Uses Tuesday chosts respect you and your work; everything will be properly linked back to you and credit given where credit is due.  You earned it!

           Thanks for stopping by to visit Two Uses Tuesday!

                                                   

Fairy Merry Christmas

Good morning to all our "peeps" (get it, "two chicks", lol).  I am teamed up with some fantastic bloggers to bring you a 

Fairy Merry Christmas

Check out the link below to find all the great posts and bloggers below!

Fairy Merry Christmas

Our Family Christmas Traditions #2

My husband and I have raised seven children.  With that many in the family, as the kids begin to get older, it is nice to mix things up and add some humor to some of our Christmas traditions.  Plus, some of us just have an odd sense of humor so we have to let that shine through!

Several years ago, when our youngest, Ali, was maybe 3 or so, my husband and I decided to buy "gag" gifts for each person who would be at our home on Christmas Eve.  We live in a small town in Northern Nevada and at the time we had a dollar store here, "Honk's," yes, that was the name.  Maybe some of you have shopped at one of these stores?  The store in our town closed a few years ago (insert sad face here) and I see the store in Elko closed, too.  Now we go to the dollar section at Target and to Dollar Tree when we go to the big city--Reno, Nevada.

Our gag gift party is similar to a white elephant party--you can choose to open a new gift or take one away that has been opened.  With quite a few of us there, it can get pretty intense.

My husband and I would take some time on a Saturday in December and peruse the aisles.  We had seven children to buy for (some were adults or teens), a grandma, and a daughter-in-law, as well as whoever else might be at our Christmas Eve celebration.  The key to gag gift shopping is keep it simple and inexpensive. 

Of course, you want to pick something that would be wanted (a potato peeler) and some not so much (a home pregnancy test from the dollar store).  One year my mother-in-law, who was in her 70's, opened the home pregnancy test--that was a good laugh for us all!  No one took it away from her either lol.  The most surprising gift I recall is we purchased a small plastic donkey that would "bray".  My boys had the best time with that one--they all wanted it!  We would buy kitchen utensils, knick-knacks of undetermined origin, a Whoopee cushion one year (pretty sure my youngest son made good use of it), etc.  All of the gifts would be nicely wrapped and numbered.  The family members would draw numbers beforehand and then proceed in that order to choose a gift.  The more the merrier is true with this activity!

This is just another one of our Christmas traditions and we hope that you enjoyed reading about it.  Have a Merry Christmas and feel free to comment below with one of your traditions!

Amazon $50 Gift Card Giveaway

Welcome to our first ever giveaway!  We here at
twochicksandamom felt this would be the perfect time to run our giveaway--but anytime is a good time for $50 worth of Amazon goodies.  Just click the link below--and good luck!
                                                       

                                  a Rafflecopter giveaway